An inquest into the death of Juan Coto, the trusted sports psychologist of British tennis star Johanna Konta, has concluded that the Spaniard committed suicide.

Coto, who died on November 12, was only 47 years old when he passed away suddenly in November. Surrey Coroners concluded at a recent hearing that Coto took his own life. A fundraising webpage, set up by family, friends and associates, has already brought in over £7,000 for the mental health charity Sane.

Coto did not travel with Konta to tournaments but spoke frequently by telephone or email with the player between matches and formed a key cog in the team that helped her rise into the top 10 of women's tennis. Konta is the first British woman since 1984 to achieve such a feat, having risen up the rankings from 146 to the top 10 in the space of 16 months.

An inquest has concluded that Juan Coto committed suicide in November 2014

She started working with Coto in the autumn of 2014 on the advice of her ex-coach Esteban Carril. Coto and Carril were childhood friends from Spain and after a career in business, Coto began working for Alliance Coaching, where he also worked with the teenage British tennis player Jack Draper.

During usual training weeks, Konta and Coto would spend on average two hours with one another. He encouraged her to use visualisation techniques and instilled trigger words such as 'keep fighting' and 'you can do it' into her mind to keep her at ease during high-pressure moments out on court.

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In December, Konta said of her mentor: 'I know that Juan would be supportive of me continuously improving [her personal and emotional side] because it’s more than just tennis, it’s about my life.

'He’s still very much a part of everything that I do, everything that I will continue to do in this sport and this career, and most likely beyond that as well. He has gifted me with an incredible amount of tools and habits that I still to this day am looking to improve, every single day.'

Coto was the trusted sports psychologist of British tennis star Johanna Konta